Something about fall… Not even fall yet, something about the last brave weeks of summer. Something about the morning chill, the air sharp and brisk. The moisture in the air that promises a lovely afternoon, but clings to your skin in the early hours, carrying the hint of decay to your nose. Fall is coming. All these green leaves will drop, carpet the ground, and rot. The nutrients for tender spring plants next year yes, but first, the decay. The leaves cling to the branches, the last proud banner of a retreating army. The edges of the leaves on that tree are golden, crisping, as the heart sap retreats to the tree. But surely not this tree, not yet. All is well here! Summer goes on! Turn your face from the sight.
The last riot of warmth for the year, the harvest being brought in, the apples growing rosy on the branches. Perhaps it is the inevitable cold snap that always seems to arrive so suddenly to usher in the fall that drives me. Perhaps it is the lonesome wind caressing the tops of the evergreen trees, promising the bite of driven snow to come. But not yet.
Whatever it is, I find myself on the road once again. Just a short sojourn this year, a mere ten days on Vancouver Island. A wedding to attend, brave new beginnings in the end of the season. Autumn leaves make the best backdrop for new beginnings. I feel such gladness for this union, and the timing is ideal. Fall is coming.
I turn my face to the west. It hardly matters where, my limbs cry out. Just to move! As long as it isn’t fleeing, my civilized mind will gladly cry “Onwards!” in full accord with the wild feeling in the back of my mind. A veneer of control masking the by now habitual Fall travelling. Sometimes one simply learns to corral the different aspects of self into the same direction, and take the ride.
It’s not running away. Really.
Wherever you are, Be There 